Zed
“Man, you gotta fuckin’ come down here as soon as you can!” Peyton’s voice was raspy on the other end of the line. “I got some info that you’re gonna love, man. Just get your ass downtown!”
I shook my head. “I don’t know, man. Lily’s asleep.”
There was a silence followed by a throaty guffaw. “Lily’s asleep?” Peyton hooted. “Do you realize how much of a motherfuckin’ pussy you sound like right now?”
I clenched my jaw. “Fine,” I snapped. “I’ll be down in twenty minutes or so.”
“Be careful not to wake Princess Lily!” Peyton cackled. I rolled my eyes and hung up my cell, stuffing it in my pocket.
Taking a deep breath, I stretched and climbed off of Lily’s tiny couch. I heard her light snores coming through the open bedroom door, and I couldn’t resist walking down the hall and peeking at her as she slept. In sleep, Lily looked relaxed and happy. Her long dark hair fanned over the pillow, and I saw the hint of her curves under the blanket. My cock twitched in my pants, and I reached down to rub away the beginnings of an erection. Fuck, man, get a hold of yourself! I thought angrily. No time to fuck around with Lily, no matter how hot she looks right now.
My body didn’t cooperate with my mind’s request, and I forced myself to turn around and walk back down the hallway. Scribbling a note to Lily that told her I’d be back soon, I walked outside into the brisk winter air. With my luck, I’d get down there, and Peyton would laugh in my face. It wouldn’t be the first time that had happened. But despite everything, I did trust him. Most of the time, he seemed like a decent guy who was more than willing to put in grunt time to earn my respect.
“Zed!” I shielded my eyes from the sun and looked up to see Lily running after me. She crashed into me and wrapped her arms around me, clinging on tight.
“What?” I demanded, standing there like a tree. Lily slowly pulled away from me.
“Sorry,” she said with an adorable flush across her cheeks. “I didn’t know you were that close. Where are you going?”
I rolled my eyes. “None of your business, princess,” I told her, gently pushing her to the side and walking towards my truck.
Lily pouted. “Can I come with you? I haven’t been out of the apartment all weekend.”
I shook my head. “Too dangerous. I’ll see you tonight.”
“You just expect me to stay inside all day?” Lily’s words echoed off the frozen ground in a high shriek. “I’m not doing that!”
“You’re doing what I say you’re doing,” I said, growling at her. She shrunk back as though she’d been burned. Momentarily, I felt a pang of guilt for snapping at her.
“Sorry,” she muttered. I watched as Lily tucked a long strand of dark, shiny hair behind her ear. “It’s just frustrating. You still haven’t told me what’s going on.”
Panic rose in me. “And I’m not going to,” I said with defiance.
Lily turned on her heel and stalked away back into the building. I knew it was a sore spot, but no matter how much she thought she could wear down my resolve, I wouldn’t give in. The last thing that Lily needed to hear about was my sister, Rose, getting ripped apart by some sadistic nut. I didn’t want to frighten her; she already had enough to be scared of in this life.
The drive downtown was uneventful. My car was freezing cold the whole time, and my feet felt like blocks of ice in my heavy work boots. Peyton wasn’t at his usual bar, and I had to hunt around for a few blocks before I found him alone in a strip joint. I bellied up to the bar and sat down next to him. This cheap blonde was dancing around on stage, prancing and showing her giant tits to Peyton. He gazed up appreciatively but turned to me as soon as I greeted him.
“You couldn’t go someplace a little more private?” I gestured around. “These places are crawling with undercover cops.”
Peyton shook his head. “I wanted some fuckin’ pussy, man.” He scowled. “I haven’t gotten any in weeks.”
I cleared my throat. No matter how hard I tried to keep her out of my mind, there was Lily again. She pranced around topless in my head, just like the cheap dancer on stage. Unlike the dancer, Lily had a natural grace and magnetism, not to mention the hottest little body…
Peyton coughed. “You listenin’, man? I asked if you had the dough for me yet.”
I handed him a leather envelope with some cash in it. “That’s for you,” I replied darkly. “I took my cut already.”
“So listen,” Peyton began. He leaned closer to me, so he was almost whispering. Although I wasn’t thrilled about doing business in a strip joint, at least the music was so loud that no one would overhear us. “Listen, I think I found your contact.”
“Yeah?” I raised my eyebrows. “That was fast.”
Peyton grinned. “There’s been a string of similar killings,” he said, watching my face to gauge my reaction. I felt my heart seize up as the image of Rose’s lifeless and mutilated body flashed into my mind. “And they’re close, Zed. They’re all in Detroit, some of them only a few miles away.”
My head was spinning with the new information. “Do you think he knows I’m looking? Whoever it is?”
Peyton shrugged. “I guess, man,” he said in a low voice. “But ain’t you worried? Ain’t you scared he’s gonna find you and that girl you’re hiding out with?”
I shook my head. “Not before I find him. He’s got something bad coming to him; he has no idea what I’m going to do.”
Peyton gave me a serious look. “He’s tough, that’s all I’m saying, man.” A new dancer, a petite redhead, walked onto the stage and Peyton let out a wolf whistle.
“I know he’s fuckin’ tough,” I snarled out under my breath. Peyton glanced at me, looking bored. “He’s gonna pay for what he did,” I repeated.
“Whatever you say, man,” Peyton said breezily. I wanted to punch him. When he sensed my anger, he broke out into a wide grin. “Don’t be so intense, man, lighten up!”
I slid off the bar stool and slapped a twenty on the counter. Without saying anything, I stalked out of the club, pulling my jacket around my ears. I hadn’t even been gone for an hour, but I was already worried about Lily.
This shit had to stop. If I didn’t stop soon, it was going to kill me worrying about her. What was going to happen to me? Was I never going to be able to let her go? This was something completely new, and I didn’t like it. I already fucked her, so why can’t I get her out of my fuckin’ head?
The whole ride home, my head was scattered with thoughts of Lily. I couldn’t get her off my mind… her sweet little face, her gorgeous, tight body… God, the way she’d wrapped her mouth around my dick and sucked like there was no tomorrow. She killed me with a single glance, and I felt as powerless as a puppy when she was around. I knew that when I got home, she’d be steamed I’d been so cold to her. Maybe she’d ignore me for a few hours, and I could finally have some peace.
“Lily?” I called out when I entered the apartment. There was no answer, and her bedroom door was shut. As always, the fresh, sweet smell of her wafted into my nostrils. She smelled like strawberries and vanilla, and everything in the apartment smelled like her. Even after days of sleeping on the couch, it was still all Lily.
With a sigh, I yanked open the cupboard. It slammed against the wall, and I cringed but didn’t stop what I was doing. All of the packets of gourmet coffee that Lily had bought for me were still there. One by one, I tossed them into the trash. When I was done, the only thing that was left was a package of Maxwell House plain black. I measured out a scoopful and dumped it in the new coffeemaker. I would have liked to trash that, too, but I really needed some caffeine.
The bedroom door opened and Lily’s quiet footsteps padded out into the kitchen. “Zed, what are you doing?” She looked in the trash and frowned. “Why did you throw that stuff away? I thought you liked it.”
I glared at her. “Fuck off, Lily.” She gasped, and her mouth formed a small ring of surprise. I felt a momentary twinge for hurting her—for the second time that morning—but it went away as soon as I remembered the hold she had on me. If I needed to stop thinking about her, I needed to stop engaging her, too.
“Z-Zed,” Lily sputtered, sounding confused. “Are you mad at me? Did I do something?”
“You need to keep your little nose where it fuckin’ belongs,” I said with a growl. Lily shrank back in the hallway. “Stay out of my business. I’m not ever going to tell you what it’s about.”
Lily’s eyes filled with tears and she stepped backward before turning around and running into her room. The door slammed, and I winced. I didn’t like to hurt her; I didn’t like to be nasty for no reason. But she had to learn that I was trouble, and if she kept mooning over me all the time, well, that just wasn’t going to happen.
When my coffee brewed, I took it over to the couch and sat down. It seemed pretty unbelievable that I’d only been working for a few weeks. Lily still had no idea; she didn’t know anything about me. Hell, she didn’t even know I did time for heroin. I had no idea what she actually thought, but I could guarantee it wasn’t as bad as the truth.
She was a nice girl. She deserved a nice life, just like Rose did. And if something happened to Lily the same way it happened to Rose, I’d never forgive myself. Then I would have failed two women, instead of just the one.
No way was that ever going to happen.